Ouch - my Knee (Read 752 times)

Kizzy

posted: 1/29/2007 at 4:38 AM

Hi everyone
This is my first posting, I stumbled across this site in December and have since become a "running bore", so my sis described to me the other day, and Im pretty new to the running game, all through school I was a sprinter (100m - 200m job done! - type of thing)
I am trying to get fit to run a 1/2 marathon in June and want to run the London Marathon next year, have been running 2 and 3 mile routes at roughly 10 min mile and went out Sunday and did just under 5 mile at 11min pace, Monday my right knee felt like it had been replaced with a razor blade and today Tuesday there is still a twinge when I go up and down stairs, but not as bad. Im due to go back out tonight for at least 2 or 3 mile, should I just get on with it and run, strap the knee and run, or rest it. Also, is this is be expected at my ripe old age of (ssshhhh 40 - still need therapy to say that word!), I would appreciate any advice.

Hi Kizzy - welcome to the forum.
I started running again last April and had 2 bouts of knee twinges/pain which was probably the result of pushing too hard before the body had adapted fully. In the first instance I had to stop running for 3 weeks until I felt no pain when walking. You might want to try a combination of walking/jogging first just to see if you can train without pain. Some injuries can improve with light training but if you don't let it get better first then you might have to delay your training even more further down the line. If you do need to take time out you can always cross-train to keep up the cardiovascular - swimming, biking etc. I know this is not what you want hear when you are hooked on running (been there!!) but better to be safe than sorry in my view.
In the meantime there is some good advice here -
http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/prepareemergencies/prep4922.html

I'd take a few days for your knee to heal. I'm 42 and I know that I don't recover from things like that they way I did when I was younger. My dh tried running through some "little" injuries and has pretty much been unable to run since last September. When I injured my knee last year, the doctor told me that when it didn't hurt to walk around, I could try to do some walking. If it didn't hurt to walk a couple of miles then I could try a slow, easy, short jog. If that didn't hurt than I could try an easy run. If at any point it hurt then I had to go back to square one.
After looking at your log, I'd also reccomend that you be careful ramping up your mileage so quickly. You've gone from running two days a week to running 5 days and from 5 miles a week to 15 miles all in one week's time. Classic recipe for an overtraining injury. Are you following a particular training program? If not, most experts recommend that you not increase your mileage more than 10% per week and when first increasing the number of days per week that you run, not increasing the weekly mileage to allow your body time to adjust.
Teresa

Not following any programme as such, just trying to get my fitness level up and increase the mileage each week to burn off calories as well, I was feeling good and found the 5 mile fairly easily and the knee didn't give me jip until the next day, your right about the 2 days to 5 days training spurt, hadn't looked at it like that, just thought thats how you increased your level

This is purely my own experience - and I've never had knee problems - but I listen to them carefully, because they seem to be a really good early warning system for me.
The very first sign that I might be pushing too hard is that weak, twingy knee feeling. Not pain, just ... something there. When I feel it, I back off - run a little slower the next day. When I upped my mileage recently, I discovered that listening to my knees was important to maintaining the mileage. I think if I ignored my knees, I'd pay the price.
If your knees are like mine, TBarton might be on to something: maybe ease back to 4 days per week, or at least make sure some of those days are really easy recovery runs, until your knees quit barking. For me, I've discovered it's all about finding a balance between the harder days and the easier days, even if I don't actually take days off.

E-mail: JakeKnight2002@aol.com
-----------------------------

Scout7

CPT Curmudgeon

posted: 1/29/2007 at 10:21 AM

Yeah, it sounds like what happened to me when I decided that I could do more than I was technically prepared for. Sounds like Ilio-tibial Band Syndrome, or ITBS. If the pain is on the outside of the knee, that's usually what it is.
Rest it. Work on stretching it more, and watch the mileage increases.

Kizzy

posted: 1/29/2007 at 10:32 AMmodified: 1/29/2007 at 5:39 PM

Its kind of in the middle inside the knee if you know what i mean, im gonna go and get a knee support and just do a slow 2 mile, maybe tomorrow (Tuesday), its fine walking and ive jogged round my lounge and that was fine, it just tweeks going up the stairs, i cant just suddenly stop now!